Police: Suspect in attacks put face in women's buttocks

The man accused of assaulting women in a West Seattle park intentionally grabbed women from behind and planted his face in their buttocks, according to police.

In one of the incidents, the victim told police the suspect apologized and said the fall was accidental. She wasn't convinced.

That man, Duane Starkenburg, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor assault for the most recent case, at Lincoln Park. He had a bail hearing for two other cases -- one on Aug. 11 and another on Dec. 15 -- but had not been charged in either incident.

His parents posted his bail of $150,000 Thursday, and Starkenburg was released, telling reporters that he is innocent.

"It's not like I'm this guy who puts on makeup and is running around attacking women," he told The Seattle Times.

In an interview with police Tuesday, Starkenburg allegedly said "he goes to the park everyday to watch women run as he likes to watch them 'jiggle and bounce,'" Detective Leslie Smith wrote in a probable cause document.

"It's not like I drag the women into the bushes and rape them," Starkenburg allegedly said.

But police say he took indecent liberties. Court documents show he's a felon who pleaded guilty to a previous assault case from a road rage incident.

Court documents released Thursday show police had the victim in the Dec. 15 case help with a sketch of the suspect. But that sketch was not released publicly.

"Information that detectives develop is usually shared internally, and then externally as the case develops or as circumstances develop," Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said. In cases of serious injury attacks, police typically release sketches sooner.

Starkenburg pleaded not guilty this to the misdemeanor charge for the Tuesday incident. If he is charged in the other cases, an arraignment -- a court hearing where a suspect enters a plea -- will likely be scheduled in February.

On Dec. 15, a woman was running with her lhasa apso dog when she noticed a man who appeared out of nowhere, and with her permission patted her dog. She described him to police as "a nice guy but creepy," and he continued to be around her.

The woman runner, who had been resting when the man first talked to her, thought it was odd the man said he was injured after jogging. He said he was injured while walking up stairs.

When they reached a flat area, the man got behind her. He slid down the woman's legs to grab her ankles, then went face first onto the ground. The woman reasoned that if he'd fallen, the man would have put his hands out to catch himself, but that didn't happen, according to court documents. She told police she thought the man was trying to get on top of her.

"His nose went up in my butt," she told police. "I was very shocked."

That woman told police she saw him again in the park earlier this month and froze. She didn't call police, but said he wore the same outfit: black pants and a blue hoody. On Wednesday, the woman identified the man as Starkenburg.

In the Aug. 11 case, another woman said she was running with her whippet dog in Lincoln Park about 9 a.m. when a man stopped to let her pass. When they were near the bottom of a trail on a downgrade, the man fell and planted his face in her buttocks.

The man asked if she was OK, but the woman felt violated, told detectives she thought it was deliberate and ran away with her heart pounding, police said.

She also had no doubt the man was Starkenburg after viewing a police lineup, according to court documents.

About 3:50 p.m. Tuesday, a 27-year-old woman was running on the waterfront trail in Lincoln Park when police say she was grabbed from behind.

After the woman broke free, the suspect fled east through the park toward Fauntleroy Avenue Southwest. Starkenburg was arrested as he tried to cross that street, and police say the victim identified him as the man who attacked her.

Starkenburg said he fell in that case and has pleaded not guilty in that case.

After his arrest, court documents show Starkenburg also claimed he slipped and fell in a December case.